Of Mice and Dragons
by Belisante
Summary: There is a tale told, strange and bewildering, about the origins of the Qunari and their connection to dragons. Trapped in a distant land, far from the Inquisition's influence, Adaar and her companions will try to unravel this mystery. Will they succeed? Or will a powerful opponent, with madness in her eyes, stop them before that occurs?
1. Prologue

**Of Mice and Dragons**

 _Prologue_

It was a strange, yet unnerving sight in the Planasene Forest of Nevarra. Trapped within natural prisons, tree roots strangling each and every limb, qunari warriors shivered with a contorted rage. There were seven of them, each facing a perpendicular area. And in the middle of this area, that the moonlight touched with an eerie hand was an imposing figure. The figure chanted some indistinct verses, as if a song, full of brittle and madness.

The qunari were barely conscious, yet the chant lulled and beckoned them from their prisons. They felt the roots stretching and moving, giving them room to breathe and escape. One by one they disentangled themselves and then as if in a trance stumbled to the figure touched by the moonlight. Their swords, and helmets and shields made a clinking noise and it reverberated throughout the otherwise quiet forest, the sounds mixing well with the chant.

As they grew closer, the figure became clearer, it held a womanly shape and faced them with a calculated awareness. Leaves, dirt and roots covered her body – yet uncharacteristically, a horns- shaped helmet covered her head. She smiled, wickedly, as she chanted. Her voice became louder, stronger and it implored them.

When the first qunari reached her, quick as lightning, she cut his throat and let him bleed on the stone behind her. But the others kept moving, unaware or perhaps uncaring.

A creature roared in the distance, the ground trembled. The woman kept chanting, killing. One by the one the qunari fell onto the stone. All except one. This one stood right in front of her, unmoving, his eyes were blank and unknowing. She watched him like a hawk, but made no move towards him, only taking notice of his appearance.

He had been the leader of this group; his horns were long and crooked, longer than most of his kind. He was bulky, strong and intimidating. But the woman regarded him as if he was a mouse and she was the snake.

She came closer and caressed his cheek as if a prized possession. She had now stopped chanting.

"You will do." She hissed in his ear.

The roar in the distance grew louder and louder, until the trees shook and parted as something huge flew down to the ground. Fire engulfed the trees surrounding the area where the woman and the last qunari warrior stood.

The woman closed her eyes and chanted again. Her voice now becoming unnatural, akin to the noise the creature made behind them. The blood from the fallen warriors glided up from the stone, and then when the wind changed darted to the leader and climbed into his mouth and ears. He made a gurgling noise, as if finally aware, fear crossed his eyes. And then he fell to his knees, in shock and despair. The blood ran through his body, changing his own, making him stronger and more fearless.

And then as if possessed, got up and turned around, heading to the flames. The flames touched his body, but didn't burn him. It only tickled, slightly. He made his way to the creature behind the flames, the dragon with glistening grey scales and piercing amber eyes. It watched him curiously but did not attack. And he approached it, not as an enemy but as a friend as the woman behind him cackled in the night.


	2. Chapter 1

**Of Mice and Dragons**

 _Chapter One_

Chaos. Madness. It filled the cave room as the Inquisitor and her companions fought a deranged enemy. Yet her spells felt powerful, strong as she knocked the enemies back so Iron Bull could pound them. She revelled in it, letting the magic soothe through her body – then quick, shoot the one raging towards Cole with lightning. Her heart felt large, her mind fearless as a cloud of adrenaline covered her. And without much thought, destroyed the rest of the enemies in a haze of fire.

"Damn, love." Huffed Iron Bull. "For a minute I thought you were a Reaver."

She grinned at him, and then turned over one of the fallen enemies. They hadn't had much time to assess the situation; they had walked into this room only to beset by a horde of…cultists? She examined the man she had turned over; he bore the marks of a dragon cult. But he was badly bruised and cut, his right arm dislocated from his shoulder. She had not done this, or the others. Had they been in a recent fight? Was that why they were so territorial?

"Look at this." Yelled Iron Bull. He and Cole were crouching over what it seemed make-shift tents. He had picked up a vial that was stained with blood and then proceeded to sniff it. "Hmm, dragon blood." She took the vial from him to confirm, the smell placed a blush on her cheeks. _Definitely dragon blood._

"Dragon blood?" Echoed Dorian who was behind them. "How did they get a hold of that?" They all looked to Cole.

"The memory eluded them. Fear. Rage. It filled them up to the brim." Cole spoke quietly, he sounded unsure, disturbed.

"Dragon blood can do that to you, that is why we have reavers." Iron Bull said. "But I think that means we're close."

She nodded; they were on a mission to hunt down a Nevarran dragon. It was strange not having Cassandra with them, she would have enjoyed it. But one could no longer fight dragons, if one was a Divine. She wondered what Cassandra thought of that.

"And look here." Dorian said, near the back of the cave. He was pointing to the wall. "Don't you think this looks quite familiar?"

She watched the wall with curiosity as her staff marked it with light. The entire wall was covered with elven drawings, depicting dragons and elves and…

"I do remember this." Dorian noted. "Didn't we see something similar in the Exalted Plains? Solas was particularly enamoured with it."

 _Solas._ The name still produced a knot in her stomach. Why did he leave? Where was he now? It seemed so strange, to have someone so connected to the inquisition, to vanish.

She looked again to the cave drawings, closely examining the humanoid dragon figure. It looked like a qunari only with a tail. She wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Well." She shrugged and moved to join the others. "Whatever similarities, it doesn't matter; we're here to find a dragon and nothing else." And as soon as she said it, the cave shuddered with rocks trembling at their feet.

Iron Bull breathed deeply and then grinned. "Dragon."

She could smell it too, something strong and bloodthirsty. Its rage was potent.

"Let's go."

They ran out of the cave, through its twisting tunnels and into a hidden valley smirched with fire. The dragon, its orange scales glistening in the sunlight, was perched upon a cliff and below was a mob surrounding it. It was unruly mob too, a mix of elves, dwarves, humans and _qunari_? What were the qunari doing out here? Or were they Tal-vashoth? Or vashoth, like her?

But they were attacking the dragon, whether they would welcome her group's company was the question. She led her companions down towards the mob, brandishing her staff in the meanwhile. The mob was too busy to notice her group; some of the archers were shooting arrows tied with rope towards the dragon's wings. Once the arrows hit the wings, entrenched in the tendons, the warriors pulled the rope in the opposite direction. It was an interesting strategy.

As the warriors did their part, the mages hurled all sorts of elemental magic towards it: ice, lightning and water to quell the dragon's fire. With no dragon children to protect it, the dragon became more and more agitated on top of its perch.

The dragon spewed fire, it was clearly distressed. Its roar was diminishing in a way that spelled fear; it was no longer the antagonist, rather the victim. And in that slight moment she felt pity for it.

Her companions joined the rabble as she and Dorian hit it with their magic. Iron Bull and Cole climbed to the perch to hit it at its legs. The dragon screamed with agony, it was the easiest dragon hunting day she had ever encountered until…

Something boomed in the distance, everyone looked up. A trickle of light was descending upon the hidden valley. She suddenly forgot what she was doing, her body went giddy. The dragon moaned as the warriors relaxed their grips on the rope.

She fell to her knees and then watched disconcertingly as the dragon freed itself and flew from the valley. She felt light headed. She felt…

* * *

" _What did you do?"_ Someone asked her in a threatening way.

As her eyes adjusted to the light after fainting, she looked to the mob. They were pointing their weapons towards her and her companions. She got up from the ground and mumbled, "Nothing. Nothing I can explain."

The qunari warrior at the front of the mob didn't look convinced. "We nearly had it, it was firmly in our grasp…Until _you_ came."

Dorian chuckled behind her. "Such a marvellous conclusion, but what pray tell, caused us all to faint like little children? If we were to obstruct your plans, wouldn't we be halfway to Orlais instead of here with weapons drawn on us?"

The qunari huffed and glared.

There was a skirmish at the back of the mob. "Out of way you fools. Let me through." The voice belonged to a female elf, who arrived at the front of the mob somewhat dishevelled. But even from that appearance you could still see someone with authority.

"Inquisitor? My, that is you." The elf smiled and walked over to her.

"And you are?" She asked, still a little tense.

"Captain Dolores. Leader of this rabble, the Weedy Bunch. We'll eventually get a better name."

"Ah-huh. What are you doing out here? Fighting a dragon?"

Dolores grinned. "Oh, for glory. Passion. An adrenaline kick. Why else?"

She thought of the cultists back in the cave with the dragon blood. She was still sceptical.

"So you won't mind if we tagged along, on this dragon hunting trip?"

Something flashed across Dolores face, something she couldn't discern. But before she could analyse it any further, Dolores laughed heartily. "Of course. Of course. I wouldn't mind getting some tips from the _inquisitor_.

"Well, then. Lead on."

As Dolores gathered up her mob, she went back to her companions.

"Adaar, this doesn't sound right." Iron Bull murmured.

"And what was that thing in the distance, the booming noise?" Dorian added.

Cole's account was even more troubling. "This Dolores. Her mind is murky, strange. It is full of another's voice. I don't like it."

She didn't like it either. But this new occurrence was quite tantalizing and she was going to get to the bottom of it. Whether her companions liked it or not.


End file.
